Former UFC champ Deiveson Figueiredo meets former Rizin champ Manel Kape at UFC 290
Deiveson Figueiredo has his next fight set, Manel Kape signs for the bout
UFC 290 is shaping up to be one incredible night of fights, as the Ultimate Fighting Championship continues to add stellar match ups to the lineup.
UFC 290 is to go down on July 8, 2023, live from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Thus far into its development, we have the return of Bo Nickal (4-0), who faces Tresean Gore (4-2) at this event, and we have a pair of back-to-back title fights to look forward to; one where UFC flyweight champion Brandon Moreno (21-6-2) aims to defend his title in a trilogy bout with no. 2 ranked Alexandre Pantoja (25-5), and the other showcasing UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski (25-2) and interim featherweight champion Yair Rodriguez (16-3).
Another incredibly exciting clash that’s just been added to the card comes at 125 lbs between former UFC flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo (21-3-1) and former Rizin bantamweight champion Manel Kape (18-6).
There was reason to assume Figueiredo was making the move up to 135 lbs following defeat in his quadrilogy with Brandon Moreno at UFC 283, but he stated in a recent interview that he’d like to have three more fights at 125 lbs prior to making the jump.
At 35 years old, a move to bantamweight would probably suit him well.
On the contrary, who couldn’t be excited that he’s staying at flyweight for this match up?
Manel Kape came to the UFC as a champion in Rizin, a title he won by avenging his split decision defeat to Kai Asakura via second round knockout. He would have a pair of setbacks upon arriving to the world’s leading MMA promotion however, losing to the likes of Alexandre Pantoja (UD) and no. 5 ranked Matheus Nicolau (SD).
Many people believed he did enough to get the nod against Nicolau, but there was a common occurrence in both fights: Kape just wasn’t active enough and fought very gunshy in both fights.
Kape has since made the adjustment and gone on a three-fight win streak over the likes of Ode Osbourne (KO), former FNG champion Zhalgas Zhumagulov (TKO), and former GCF champion David Dvorak (UD).
Deiveson Figueiredo on the other hand comes into the bout having gone 1-2-1 over his last four, all four fights of which came against Brandon Moreno. Prior to that, he’d won five-straight, including back-to-back finishes in title fights against Joseph Benavidez (TKO, RNC), and a title defense over no. 6 ranked Alex Perez (guillotine choke).
Of Deiveson Figueiredo’s 21 wins, 9 come via knockout with 8 submissions, while of Manel Kape’s 18 wins, 11 come via knockout with 5 submissions.
Who do you see coming out of this flyweight contest on top at UFC 290?
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